Online Safety
Online safety is an integral part of children’s education in today’s digital world and is embedded in their learning at school. We also want to help our parents and children improve their own understanding of online safety issues, so they can learn to use the internet and all digital media in a safe and secure way. It is important that we work together as a community to ensure that the internet is a safe space for our children.
You can access the Department of Education's online support website for parents and carers here - http://parentinfo.org/
The Department for Education's latest advice for CyberBullying is attached within this page.
At Home
We strongly recommend you use parental control on all digital devices
As a parent or carer, you'll know how important the internet is to children - they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It's a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. But the technology children use every day can seem a bit daunting and you might worry about the risks your child can face online - such as bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content.
All parents and carers at Ashbury Meadow have access to a free membership of the National College's online safety site and can access guides,leaflets and courses explaining different aspects of online safety.
You can engage with your children regarding their use of the internet while at home. Here are some conversation starter ideas from www.childnet.com
- Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
- Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
- Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
- Encourage them to help. Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
- Think about how you use the internet as a family. What could you do to get more out of the internet together and further enjoy your lives online
You can also discuss your child's acceptable use agreement with them at home.
To try and help help parents and carers with the fast moving and changing world of the internet, we have compiled a list of useful sites that can support E-Safety at home.
- https://www.internetmatters.org/ - a website that is highly informative for both parents and children. Offers updates on latest privacy settings and features on a range of popular children’s websites.
- https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/interactive-guide/ - An interactive guide that shows how to set parental controls on a range of different devices.
- https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ - a website that shows recommended ages and the content of many popular apps, games and films.
- https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/ - a website that offers social media guides and updates on popular games. Run by Childnet.
- https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ - offers insight on how to stay safe online and also the dangers that can lurk online.
- https://vpnvanguard.com/the-ultimate-parental-guide-to-protecting-your-child-on-the-internet/
These websites can help give you more information to ensure that your child stays safe online and help you to be able to monitor your child’s safety on the internet as well.
Furthermore, here are some links that can support a positive attitude towards the usage of the internet and screen time to create healthy relationships with technology.
https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/2017/08/06/digital-5-a-day/
https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/health-impacts-screen-time-guide-clinicians-parents
At School
As part of your child’s curriculum and the development of Computing skills, we provide access to the internet only in teacher supervised lessons. Our computing curriculum for all year groups teaches age appropriate online safety, this is supported by aspects of online safety taught through our PHSE curriculum, Corum Life and our DfE approved RSE curriculum, as well as within whole school days, such as safer internet day and keeping safe assemblies.
Our online safety policy and acceptable use policies can be found within the statutory policies and information web page.
We strongly believe that the use of digital devices and the internet is hugely worthwhile and an essential tool for children as they grow up in the modern world. But because there are always concerns about children having access to undesirable materials, we have taken positive steps to deal with this risk in school. Our school internet access provider operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials. We also use a monitoring system to ensure that we monitor the use of the internet of our children in school. Further information about how we filter and monitor use and our technical security can be found in our online safety policy.
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